Bruxism is an official term for the habit of teeth grinding, or clenching during the night or day and some dentists say it is on the rise.

Young women, young mothers, those with sleep conditions and those who exercise strenuously are particularly prone.

The effects of this unconscious behaviour are irreversible, starting with fine craze lines on the enamel through to the softer inner layers of the teeth and can require crowns or even extractions.

Remarkably, like Ms Doherty, most people are not aware they are suffering from the condition until a dentist intervenes, or a partner complains of grinding noises.

"I think I developed it in response to stress from studying full time at uni, stress from an unpleasant work environment, and the hours I have to work, and worrying about money too, and the fact that I just had to do all these things to get by and have little to no downtime for myself," Ms Doherty said.

Stress is a common reason given for the condition, which some dentists say wasn't prevalent in previous generations.

Leah Machmud, a dentist working in Bundoora and a bruxism sufferer, agrees that young women in particular tend to process the stress differently.

"I would say between 40 to 75 per cent of my patients have some degree of this issue and that's just the people who are coming forward," she said.

"While its possible to have grinding or clenching for no reason, that's quite rare. It's something that concerns me because I think mental health in general needs to be talked about more."

Sleep bruxism sufferers have "higher levels of perceived psychological stress and cortisol (a stress hormone) in the saliva" as well as being "more competitive and felt more anxious than normal subjects", according to a 2016 article in the Journal of Conservative Dentistry.